Welcome to the Gourmet Pantry,
the source for your every gourmet need!
Cooking Brings People Together.
Cooking gives us not just the meal but also the occasion and the practice of being together at an appointed time and place, sitting down to common meals, making eye contact, sharing food makes us more social and civil. The shared meal is not a small thing to me. It is a foundation of family life, the place where our children learn the art of conversation and habits of civilization: sharing, listening, taking turns, etc.
Cooks get to put their hands on real stuff, not just keyboards and screens, but fundamental things like plants, animals, and fungi. They get to work with the primal elements: fire and water, earth and air.
Cooking has always been a part of my life. I’m extremely lucky to have such a supportive and loving family. My mother and sisters love to cook most every night and made such delicious meals while I was growing up. Even today, when we get together, it’s always about food, hospitality, and being together. It’s a never ending celebration.
Everywhere I travel I want to learn about the local cuisine, reinvent techniques, and find substitute local ingredients for my clients. This simplifies the recipes so that they are more user friendly.
I’m self-taught and I find no rules to cooking. So be creative, make it the way you like it, spice it up to your flavor, and season the food to your taste.
Our History:
At age 21, Roya Gharavi owned her first restaurant in Virginia Beach, an Italian eatery. After 4 years, she sold the business and moved to Blacksburg where she opened another Italian eatery, “Champions Pizza,” on South Main Street. Three years later, Roya moved her business downtown and opened Champ’s Sports Bar and Catering. Roya sold Champ’s after 8 years and opened the Gourmet Pantry in 2000.
The idea for the Pantry came after Roya found herself searching for special ingredients in gourmet shops during her travels to bring back to Blacksburg. The Pantry was opened to service the fine people of Blacksburg with gourmet ingredients and fine cookware in a convenient location.
In 2006, the Gourmet Pantry was outgrowing its location on North Main Street and Roya was dreaming of opening her own cooking school to teach gourmet cuisine and healthy eating. The Gourmet Pantry soon relocated to 401 South Main Street and became the “Gourmet Pantry and Cooking School.”
Today, the Gourmet Pantry frequently donates time to the community to do cooking demonstrations focused on simplicity and nutrition in addition to our regular classes. Roya’s passion for cooking and food inspires her to create new recipes for every class taught at the Pantry. Many of us know Roya as our own living and breathing encyclopedia of cooking. The trust that our customers have in our knowledge, service and products puts us a cut above the rest.